Shower Pressure - Combi Boiler...

Kaydee50 · 3 Dec 2006

Hi All,

I've recently purchased a house as a first time buyer which has a combi boiler heating system. Our current shower is awful as there appears to be no pressure making it really frustrating. Is there any way to make it more powerful??

If I cannot increase the water pressure I was hoping to buy a new shower and a water pressure booster but I'm really confused as I don't think I can due to the combi boiler.

If someone could advise it would really be appreciated.

Thanks.

BoxBasher · 3 Dec 2006

Does the shower run from the combi?
What make of shower is it?
Is it an electric shower, a mixer shower or a power shower?

Kaydee50 · 3 Dec 2006

Hi,

Its a Mira Sport Electric shower. Don't think it runs from the Combi.

BoxBasher · 3 Dec 2006

First thing to do is try cleaning the head, the holes can get blocked up restricting the flow.

It could be that there is a poor flow to the shower itself, in which case buying a new shower won't solve the problem.

Poor flow could be caused by many things, the most common being restrictions in the pipework inside the property, or the supply pipe to the property.

What is the flow like on the taps in the bathroom, and in the kitchen?

You usually need a minimum flow of at least 10 litres/minute to run an electric shower. To check the flow get a n empty pop bottle (2 litre) and see how long it takes to fill it. Should take 12 seconds at 10LPM.

chrisbyrd · 3 Dec 2006

does a higher KW value = faster flow with electric showers?

BoxBasher · 3 Dec 2006

Higher KW means that it can heat a greater amount of water at a time, hence a greater flow capacity. Not particularly faster (velocity speaking) but you get a lot wetter a lot quicker.

Just depends on what you've got going into it though.

Kaydee50 · 6 Dec 2006

BoxBasher said:
First thing to do is try cleaning the head, the holes can get blocked up restricting the flow.

It could be that there is a poor flow to the shower itself, in which case buying a new shower won't solve the problem.

Poor flow could be caused by many things, the most common being restrictions in the pipework inside the property, or the supply pipe to the property.

What is the flow like on the taps in the bathroom, and in the kitchen?

You usually need a minimum flow of at least 10 litres/minute to run an electric shower. To check the flow get a n empty pop bottle (2 litre) and see how long it takes to fill it. Should take 12 seconds at 10LPM.

Thanks for the response.

Tried cleaning the shower head and all seems to be fine with it and has made no impact to the pressure.

With regards to the flow in the bathroom, this too is quite slow but appears to randomly change. When you flush the loo and wash your hands the pressure disappears for a minute then comes back.

Kitchen has decent pressure in cold tap but average in hot tap. Not tried your pop bottle but will once I've got an empty one.

Does this mean that a new shower and/or booster pump will be of no advantage. Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

BoxBasher · 6 Dec 2006

A new shower/booster pump will solve the shower problem, providing it is correctly installed. However, if there is a problem elsewhere then it is an unnecessary expense that you may not need to go to.

Check that your isnside stop-tap is fully open and that any servicing valves ar efully open (usually they have a screw on the side, this should be pointing along the pipe, not accross or diagonally).

Once you have done the pop-bottle test, if your flow is less than it should be (industry minimum is 9LPM) then contact your water supplier and ask them to investigate your poor supply.

wanleg · 7 Dec 2006

You can't put a shower pump on a system that has a combi boiler. A mixer shower on it's own should provide excellent shower pressure as the combi supplies the water at mains pressure.

What are the expectations of your electric shower ? you say the pressure is low but what are you comparing this to ? you say this is your first house so what type of shower have you used in the past.....even the best electric shower will be poor in comparison to a combi fed mixer.

Your current electric shower does not run off the combi...it only has a cold water supply and therefore heats the water itself as you are using the shower.

If you have never experienced an electric shower before then my feeling is that there's actually nothing wrong with yours it just doesn't meet your previous showering experiences.

BoxBasher · 7 Dec 2006

wanleg said:
You can't put a shower pump on a system that has a combi boiler. A mixer shower on it's own should provide excellent shower pressure as the combi supplies the water at mains pressure.

Read the posts... its an electric shower

KayDee50 said:
Its a Mira Sport Electric shower.

Kaydee50 · 7 Dec 2006

wanleg said:
You can't put a shower pump on a system that has a combi boiler. A mixer shower on it's own should provide excellent shower pressure as the combi supplies the water at mains pressure.

What are the expectations of your electric shower ? you say the pressure is low but what are you comparing this to ? you say this is your first house so what type of shower have you used in the past.....even the best electric shower will be poor in comparison to a combi fed mixer.

Your current electric shower does not run off the combi...it only has a cold water supply and therefore heats the water itself as you are using the shower.

If you have never experienced an electric shower before then my feeling is that there's actually nothing wrong with yours it just doesn't meet your previous showering experiences.

Thanks for your input.

Yes this is our first house however I have had experience of a number of electric showers in the past, either from staying over at mates houses and other previously rented accommodations in the past etc etc

In comparison it truly is a poor 4 out of 10. Let me give you a quick example, the pressure is so minimal that my girlfriend has trouble washing the shampoo out of her hair. Yes I understand that we will never have a power hose in our bathroom but think that this is definitely below average. I also understand and appreciate that it is hard for you guys to comment on this as you can only go on what I say and you don't have the ability to view it.

Once again however any suggestions or advice is greatly received.

Regards

wanleg · 7 Dec 2006

Read the posts... its an electric shower

Oops sorry...

Kaydee50 · 7 Dec 2006

wanleg said:
Read the posts... its an electric shower

Click to expand...

Oops sorry...

Any other suggestions??

wanleg · 7 Dec 2006

The cold water flow rate in the bathroom does need to be measured as per BoxBashers advice...

Do you know the KW rating of the shower ? you could have the 7.5KW version.

Also forgive me but does the shower head adjust for different spray patterns ? if so has the best one for water flow been set ?

To rule out the shower head completely maybe you could try unscrewing then measure the flow rate to see what the delivery is.

Does the flow rate increase when the lower heat and temperature settings are selected ?

Does your model have a low flow indicator ? and if so does this light up ?

BoxBasher · 7 Dec 2006

wanleg said:
Oops sorry...

If it's any consolation, I always read other posts after replying too...

K D, measure the flow you have from you cold tap in kitchen and bathroom on bath/basin, then we will know what you are working with...

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